Transcribe Video to Text
Get a full written transcript of any captioned YouTube video in seconds — free, timestamped, no software.
Free · No sign-up · Works on any public YouTube video
Transcription without the upload and the wait
Traditional transcription tools want a media file. You export the video, upload it, wait for a processing queue, and then pay per minute. For anything already on YouTube, that is unnecessary work.
This tool reads the caption track YouTube has already generated, which is why it returns a full transcript in seconds and costs nothing.
No upload required
Works directly from the video URL. Nothing to export, compress, or upload.
No per-minute pricing
Free regardless of video length, because there is no audio processing to pay for.
Timestamped result
Every line is timecoded, so the transcript stays anchored to the recording.
How to transcribe a video to text
- 1
Paste the YouTube link
Copy the video URL into the field above.
- 2
Transcribe
The caption track is read and formatted into a full written transcript.
- 3
Copy or search it
Search the transcript for what you need, or copy the whole thing into your own documents.
Who needs transcripts
Researchers
Pull the actual argument out of a conference talk or interview, with timestamps you can cite, without watching the whole recording.
Journalists
Quote an interview or press conference accurately, with a timestamp to check against.
Students
Turn a two-hour lecture into text you can search, quote, and revise from — far faster than scrubbing the video for one definition.
Professionals
Catch up on webinars, earnings calls, and industry talks by reading the transcript in a few minutes instead of blocking out an hour.
Video transcription FAQ
How do I transcribe a YouTube video to text?
Paste the video link above. The transcript is produced from the video's caption track and displayed with timestamps in seconds.
Is this real transcription or just captions?
It reads the video's existing caption track, which for most videos is either the creator's own transcript or YouTube's speech recognition. It does not run separate audio transcription, so a video with no captions cannot be transcribed here.
How accurate is it?
As accurate as the underlying captions. Creator-written captions are typically excellent; auto-captions are strong on clear speech but can struggle with names, jargon, and heavy accents.
Do I need an account or an extension?
No. Transcripts here are free with no sign-up. The free JumpWatch Chrome extension adds AI summaries and chat directly on the YouTube page if you want them.
Get AI summaries and chat on every video
The transcript is free here. Add the free JumpWatch extension to summarize and chat with any video without leaving YouTube.
Add to Chrome — FreeOr browse recent transcripts.